Thursday 21 May 2015

Back To Mono

When I was 11 I got my first camera, very cheap and very Kodak of course. It took a roll of film which had to be threaded on to a spindle, making sure not to let any light get to the precious film. There was a little lever on the front by which you could set the aperture for cloudy or sunny conditions. A little red window on the back told you how many pictures you had taken. Sophisticated.

If you wanted colour you had to buy colour film which was way outside the budget of my pocket money. Funnily enough though it took pretty good pictures in black and white. 

That camera is long gone but I still like to experiment with black and white from time to time, so here are a few assorted pictures which seem to work better in good old monochrome; though because they were taken on a digital camera then adjusted on the laptop using a photo editing program it was a lot more complicated than just pushing a big old clunky shutter-release.


A mask attached to a tree - no I don't know why.


Church door handle, very old.


Green St. in Cambridge, winter.


In the Botanic Gardens, Cambridge 2015 - or maybe 1915.


Church spire in Saffron Walden.


Wrought iron staircase in the bell tower of a Suffolk church.


Take care.



21 comments:

  1. I like your black and white and sepias, John. I still have the old 'fold-up' Kodak my parents gave me, - but alas, no film. Still, I treasure it, and the photos I took with it in the early days.... Those old B&Ws of courtship days and young family are very precious. and we had the negatives reprinted so many are not too faded. Love the Cambridge children - beautifully edited.

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  2. I had one of those little Kodak cameras too! And only got black and white film for it.

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  3. That wrought iron is amazing...when i had film cameras, one was always loaded with B&W.

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  4. I too had one of those film cameras. I thought the black and white photos were much better than the color at that time. Your choice of photos today show off what is still attractive in photos -- good old black and white. Enjoyed -- barbara

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  5. These are lovely, John. And you tossed in a sepia shot of the stairwell at the end just to see if we were looking at the whole post. Very clever.

    Sorry if I have missed a post or two. They have a weak power supply system here in South Africa, with lots of power outages, and wifi costs enough not to be squandered. Plus, the new grandchild is taking a lot of very enjoyable time . . .

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  6. These are really great shot. I like number 4 a lot.
    Have a happy weekend.
    Hugs

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  7. Digital cameras have taken away the mystery and surprise of photography. You now know instantly how crappy your photo came out instead of a week later when you picked up your packet of processed pictures at the drug store. I like the Botanic Gardens picture best.

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  8. I started photography only four years ago and don't know about old cameras much. Just a little bit. Do you shoot sometimes with film? Read with a great interest about your first camera. You probably had to buy many different films with different ISO plus color films.

    Love very much a photo of tree and the narrow street. It reminded me old town in Vilnius. Love also your black and white photos and sepia. They are so great!!!



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  9. I'd say your experiment was a success John. Your photos are great.

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  10. Sweet little girls and one of them is wearing a smocked dress. I remember them.
    I think young photographers miss out on some of the fun not having experienced the old Kodaks. Every time I upload pictures to my computer, there is a little "wow" that sounds in my head because I remember how expensive it was years ago to get pictures developed, and how long you had to wait to get them processed.

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  11. Love seeing these photos. I have tried using Photoshop to edit some pics to black and white, and they never quite look as beautiful as these. Well done.

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  12. It is a fun challenge.working in monochrome. It was our last challenge at camera club. these are good examples

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  13. My first camera was a Kodak bantam coloursnap - very revolutionary!!

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  14. Wow, great shots here! the two Cambridge shots are my favorites. You are so right, that shot of the children could have been 1915 instead of 2015.

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  15. What I remember most about my first camera, which was similar to yours, is waiting forever to get the film developed with my pocket money, so long the photos were usually a surprise when I finally got them. Your photos and your eye for what makes a good one are wonderful.

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  16. I love the tonal qualities here, as well as the subject matter of course. The girls in the park is lovely and timeless. I use a Fujifilm XE1 which allows me to simulate film types. I often simulate monochrome -- it was my first love and it transforms the everyday into something transcendent.

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  17. I love black and white photos - they can be dramatic or pretty and these are lovely! I really like the ones of the spires and the churches, the detail looks amazing. - Tasha

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  18. I love these. Green Street looks like it could be the 1930's and The Botanic Gardens really could be 1915. Now I want to play with black and white tones on my own photos.

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  19. Interesting photography ... thank you for sharing. Also, a special Thank You for your extended comment with information about the wattle fence on my blog. Excellent to learn how trees are grown to produce this kind of material. I have never seen a wattle fence here in the Pacific Northwest USA. Hope to see one in person on my travels some day. Thanks again!

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  20. Ah, those were the days. I bet if we knew how life would be 50 years later, we'd never believe it! These ar awesome shots.

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  21. There are definitely some images that were made for black and white John, your scary tree face works well :)

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